


Dance, Dance

by ilovemygaydad



Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-08-09 06:50:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16444904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilovemygaydad/pseuds/ilovemygaydad
Summary: Another Cinderella Story!AuWarnings: domestic abuse, swearing, sexual humor, crude comments, bullying, making out, abusive deceit, i can’t think of anything else but tell me if you want me to tag something





	1. Introductions

**Author's Note:**

> uhhhh read this post for context https://ilovemyspoopydad.tumblr.com/post/178829986231/okay-but-think-about-this-an-analogical-and

The shrill call of the intercom startled Virgil awake. It beeped, but no voice came out. Frustrated, Virgil slammed the talk button and spoke through gritted teeth. “ _What?_ ”

“ _Virgil, do not get sassy with me. Your phone privileges are still on thin ice,_ ” Dominic drawled.

“Of course. Sorry.” Virgil wanted so,  _so_  bad to bludgeon the damned intercom.

“ _Get me breakfast. I want eggs benedict and a grande in a venti cup of nonfat vanilla chai tea filled to the top with cream and three Stevias. THREE! Oh, and bring it here in five minutes. And get the twins their breakfasts._ ” The intercom clicked off.

_Great!_  Virgil thought.  _What a totally realistic goal for me to accomplish. Fucking kill me._

And, needless to say, Virgil didn’t have the stupid eggs and the even more stupid drink in five minutes, so Dominic made Virgil cough up his phone for the next two months. And then the twins dumped their smoothies onto him because they weren’t right. Virgil had to change his clothes and then make new smoothies.

Virgil barely made it out the door in time due to his chores, and then he almost forgot his skateboard, so by the time that he had rolled up to Patton’s beat-up van, he  _was_  late. Patton gave him a quizzical look, but he just shook his head and climbed into shotgun.

Once they started their journey to school, Virgil actually took in what Patton was wearing. The top half was pretty normal looking; Pat’s purple-streaked curls were neatly swooped back, and he had on one of Virgil’s old flannel shirts. On his bottom half, he had—

“Patton, are you wearing a blue tutu?”

The friend in question grinned. “Yeah! I think that it perfectly fits my playful personality!”

Virgil suppressed a smile. “It sure does, Pat.”

“I think I’m going to add tutus to my future fashion line. It’s a winner for sure. And then I’ll get famous, and you’re going to become an all-star dancer, so I can pick you up in my private jet for lunch in Paris!” Patton spoke animatedly, flinging his hands around and ignoring the road. Virgil, practically used to it already, took the wheel in his own hands to make sure they wouldn’t go off road.

“Dude, I have to get into dance school before I can become famous.”

“Yeah, but you’re gonna!” Patton waved dismissively at Virgil’s worries. “Oh, anyway, did you hear that Logan Parker is coming back today?”

“Obviously. I live—turn right—with Toby, Ember, and Dominic. I never hear the end of that shiiii… stuff. Never hear the end of that stuff.”

Patton shrugged. “Fair.”

Virgil rolled his eyes and began to rummage around his pocket for a second, pulling out a pan of black eyeshadow. He flipped down the visor to use the mirror, but as he let go, the whole visor clattered to the floor, completely unhinged. “Fuck, Patton. Would it kill you to fix this thing?”

“Don’t upset her! She’s sensitive, and I don’t want her breaking down on me!” He paused for a second before smirking at his best friend. “Plus, it’s not like you really need the mirror to apply your eyeshadow, anyway.”

“Fuck off.”

“Oh, you love me.”

“I wish you were dead.”

Patton just smiled pleasantly, pulling into the parking lot. “Okay, dear.”

It took a whole ten seconds to swipe on the eyeshadow under Virgil’s eyes. As soon as he was done, he stepped out of Patton’s awful van and took a step onto the sidewalk.

“Honestly, Ember. I can’t believe you still drink those awful frappuccinos! They’re so full of sugar,” Remy Sinclair drawled, driving his silver convertible with his two cronies. “Black coffee is obviously superi—oh.” Remy had spotted Virgil.

Shit!

The black coffee in Remy’s hand flew right onto the front of Virgil’s shirt. The boys in the car all laughed; though, it sounded more like a cackle. “Oh, Virgil. I’m  _so_  sorry!”

From the van, Patton started to yell, “You’ll be sorry when I shove my fist up your—”

Virgil rushed to put his hand over Patton’s mouth, and Remy just drove away.

* * *

“Loganloganloganloganloganlo—”

“Roman, I swear to god. If you don’t stop that insufferable babbling, I will throw you out the window of this limousine on the 405.”

Roman pouted. “You won’t pay attention to me.”

“Yeah, well,” Logan muttered as he flipped over his schedule again. “I would like to know where my classes are so I don’t look like an idiot on my first day back.”

“You’ve read that thing a billion times! Can’t we get hyped for all of your fans—”

“ _Roman_. For the last time, I am here to  _learn_. You are free to spend your time frivolously flirting with every guy with a pulse; however, I am dedicating this year to my education.”

“Ugh, fine. You’re no fun!” Roman huffed, crossing his arms. “Are you at least excited for school?”

Logan smiled at Roman for the first time during their ride. “Yes, actually, I am. Thank you for asking. Are you?”

“I’m excited if you’re excited. You know how much I love to see you smile, man.”

“It almost sounds like you’re into me, Ro,” teased Logan. Roman’s eyes widened for a second, but when he saw Logan’s tiny smirk, he calmed down.

“Mr. Parker?” The driver was looking at the duo in the rearview mirror. “We have arrived at the school.”

* * *

“ _OH MY GOD, IT’S LOGAN PARKER!_ ”

“Oh my god, Pat, Logan Parker is here. What a surprise! It’s almost like he goes here again,” Virgil mocked, turning as a swarm of people ran to the entrance. When he wasn’t being shoved around, he was able to see Logan Parker’s tall, lean figure looming above most of the students fawning over him. Someone else—a slightly shorter and far more muscular boy in clothes more fancy than should ever be on a teenager—stood at his side, a charming grin on his face. But seriously, who wore black dress pants, a white button up, and a red vest to school? This kid, apparently.

Patton both physically and mentally tore Virgil from the scene. “C’mon, let’s get to class before we’re literally run over.”

* * *

Logan shot a panicked glance at Roman as the hoard of kids surrounded them. He was used to crowds, sure, but not at his freaking  _school_! He was trying desperately to be a normal teenager for once, damn it! He couldn’t even arrive at school without making a scene.

“Hey, hey, hey, friends and fans!” Roman shouted. Logan recoiled away from the noise, physically feeling all of the love that he felt for Roman drain out of his body in one fell swoop.

The crowd screamed in response:

_”I love you, Logan!”_

_“I’m your biggest fan!”_

_“Logan, I wanna fuck you!”_

Gross. Why couldn’t people understand that he was ace?

“Right, well, I know that you’re all super excited to see Logan, but we’re here to learn! Well, he’s here to learn.” Roman made eye contact with a handsome boy and winked. “We’ll be doing a meet and greet after school—” Oh, and there was more of that screaming— “For now, though, we’re going to get to class! Part ways, everyone! Roman Ellington and Logan Parker coming through!”

Somehow—and Logan had no idea what kind of witchcraft that Roman pulled—the crowd made way for them to pass. As the pair walked into the school, Logan pulled Roman close.

“What the fuck do you mean ‘we’re having a meet and greet after school,’ Roman?” he snarled. His bright smile never faltered.

“I had to placate them somehow! And it worked, didn’t it? It’ll only be an hour, and then you can go home and do whatever it is that you asexuals like to do.”

“God, don’t phrase it like that—and you owe me big time, Roman. Like, Crofters for a month big.”

Roman muttered something about how expensive that would be, but he cut himself off. “Shit! Logan, watch out—”

* * *

_SMACK_!

All of the books and papers that Virgil was carrying flew out of his hands, fluttering to the ground like snow as he was bumped to the floor. He had stopped paying attention for,  _what_ , two whole seconds, and someone just happened to slam into him. Not to mention that he probably had a concussion with how aggressively he was flung to the ground.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” The voice paused for a second, and another one yelped. “Roman, what the hell did you push me for?” Virgil groaned and looked up.

Oh. It was Logan Parker.  _Great_.

“It’s fine. Uh, don’t—fuck, ow—don’t worry about it.” Virgil vaguely waved his hand and shoved himself up into a sitting position.

“Here, wait. Let me help you up.” Logan held out his hand for a moment, but it was pulled away to spin him towards—what a fucking surprise—Remy. Who then pulled him into a deep kiss. Right in the hallway.

“Logan! I’ve missed you so much!” Remy squealed, ignoring the way that Logan winced and tried to protest. “Oh my god, I’ve got to show you the dance studio. You’re going to  _love_  it.”

And they were gone in a flash.

The weird dressed guy who was always with Logan stepped into Virgil’s line of view with an apologetic smile. “Uh, sorry about Logan, kind sirs. Things are still very wild after the move, though I’m sure you can tell.”

“Yeah…” Virgil said, rubbing his head.

The boy’s eyes flicked to Patton, and he smiled more genuinely. “Nice tutu.”

“Thank you! Uh, I think…” A light dusting of pink spread across Patton’s cheeks, and Virgil was already loathing having to deal with a crushing Patton.

“Of course! Oh, where are my manners? I’m Roman Ellington, Logan Parker’s best friend and manager. You guys can call me The Prince.” He winked at Patton.

Virgil decided that enough was enough. “Yeah, sure thing, Princey. Oh, and you might want to go after Logan. It looked like Remy was planning to drag him to the studio for some, uh, ‘dancing.’”

“Yeah…” Roman winced. “I’ll see you two later, um…?”

“Patton! And this is Virgil.”

Roman took Patton’s hand gently. “Until next time, dear Patton.” Roman kissed the hand as punctuation and walked away.

“Oh my god… Virge, I think I’m in love.”

“Jesus. Come on, Patton. I need to get you to a cold shower before homeroom.”


	2. Awkward Encounters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all previous warnings apply as well as mentions of vomit and step parents!

_Stupid Dominic with his stupid dinner parties and taking away my phone and not letting me get a car so I have to skate all the way home from school only to have to skate to the grocery store because the only way to tell me to do so is by a note on the door._ **  
**

Virgil, with his arms full of groceries, pushed open the front door with his side. The sooner that he could get to the kitchen and lose himself in cooking tasteless white people food and crab cakes, the better. He needed to get away from the stupidity of the world--and, nope. That wasn’t happening.

“Virgil!”

_God damn it all to hell._

“Toby, Ember… I need to make crab cakes, so…” Virgil tried to squeeze past the twins, who had stepped in front of him as soon as he entered, but was stopped by them holding their hands out.

“So you know who’s coming over?” Toby asked.

Ember smirked. “Only your crush, Logan Parker!”

“God, he’s not my crush.”

“Oh yeah? Then what’s this?” The twins grabbed Virgil’s arms with well-manicured hands and pulled him to the couch, pushing him down. Ember pressed play on the TV remote, and a video of an eleven-year-old Virgil popped up on the screen. His dark brown hair was long and pulled into a messy braid that fell at his waist. Present-day Virgil cringed at the ultra-feminine clothes that he’d worn to try and get rid of the feelings that he was actually a boy. 

_“Hi! I’m Victoria Santiago, and I’d like to send this video to Logan Parker because he’s so awesome!”_

“What the hell–you guys went through my stuff?” Virgil tried to stand up and leave–his binder felt impossibly tight on his chest– but Toby held him back.

“Watch, it gets better!”

 _“I love you so much, Logan… And you’re totally kissable!_ ” Younger Virgil kissed the magazine image of Logan that he was holding. He then threw the magazine on the bed and started to dance to one of Logan’s older songs. Badly.

 

Virgil hid his face in his hands as the twins screeched in laughter.

“The dork prince!”

“Troll! Oh, he’s a troll!”

The twins giggled again, and Virgil launched forward and snatched the disc out of the DVD player. In one fluid motion, he snapped the disc in half, sending plastic splinters flying across the living room. His chest heaved; tears welled up in his eyes as the panic settled in.

“Oh, Virgil…” Ember sneered. “That’s not our only copy.”

Virgil stared at them for a few seconds before picking the grocery bags off the ground and leaving for the kitchen.

_“Creepy stalker boy!”_

* * *

It had been forty minutes of sitting at this table, wedged between the Blatt twins, and waiting for Dominic to arrive to the dinner party at his own freaking house. Forty. Minutes. Roman looked as if he was going to die of boredom, which was, in contemporary slang terms, a mood. Logan lazily watched as Roman took another crab cake from the platter in the center of the table.

“Oh, yes, Roman.  _Do_  have another crab cake,” Logan’s step-mother scoffed.

“Look, mom,” Logan interrupted before Roman could bite back. “He’s hungry. It’s been forty minutes! You asked me to come to this dinner with Dominic, and I came, but come on. I’ll wait five more minutes, but after that, I’m leaving. I need to do homework.”

Roman nodded. “I’ll be right behind you, mon ami!”

Logan’s step-mother stared blankly at the two teenagers for a moment, but ultimately turned her attention solely to Logan. “Honey, I know that you and Dominic have had some, um,  _differences_ , but tonight is about business. Try not to bring up the time that she dissed you on Good Morning America, okay? She apologized and said that she didn’t mean it.”

“How the hell do you call someone an ‘overrated, nerdy teenager with barely any talent’ and not mean it? That’s just rude and--”

“Logan, doing a duet with Dominic will mean reaching her audience--people like me. And if that means that I--I mean, the family can have another house, then wouldn’t that just be lovely?”

Logan blinked in disbelief. “Mom, you already have a house. Not to mention that nobody has bought any of Dominic’s music since cassettes were the most popular way to listen to music.”

The table sat in silence for a few awkward moments, but Dominic’s booming voice jostled them back to the present. “Good evening all of you beautiful people! Especially my sons, Toby and Ember. Anyway, I’m sorry to keep you all waiting, but I was busy writing my newest song! It’s a duet. Fantastic stuff!” Logan’s mother stood up. “Oh, hello, Evie. Young man whose name I don’t know.” She gestured to Roman, who opened his mouth to speak, but she just continued on. “And Logan. It’s a pleasure.”

Logan’s eyes flicked over at Roman, who shrugged. “Um, yeah… Dominic, I’m not going to do the duet--”

“Virgil! We need drinks!”

* * *

Virgil, who hadn’t been paying even the slightest bit of attention, jumped at hearing his name. He quickly grabbed up the tray of water and various alcoholic drinks and made his way to the table. Someone said, “Dominic, I don’t drink…” just as Virgil rounded the corner into the dining room.

Logan Parker had said that. Right. Because he was their guest tonight. Lucky for Virgil, huh?

“Of course you don’t drink, darling, but I do, so…” Dominic took two martinis off of the tray.

Virgil moved around the table, allowing the guests to pick what they wanted, and eavesdropped on the conversations Toby and Ember were having with Logan.

“Have you asked anyone to the Black and White ball yet, Logan?” Toby asked, leaning close. It made Virgil want to barf just watching them.

“Um, I--”

“Toby, you have crab cake in your teeth.” Ember pointed his finger at twin’s face, but he hooked it on Logan’s collar as he drew his hand back. He leaned in, too. “I can speak French. Want me to teach you some?”

Logan flinched backward, and placed his hands on the table with a very serious expression. “Dominic, really, I’m on a break--”

“Everyone must be so famished! Virgil, bring the first course!”

Virgil ran to the hall and grabbed the shrimp tray and tongs. The conversation seemed to only get more heated when he returned.

“What Logan means,” Logan’s mom said, obviously trying to settle things. “Is that he would be happy to take a break from his break to do the duet with you!”

“No, mom. I really don’t mean that at all. I’m here to focus on school and be a normal kid for the last few months of my high school career. I am not going to end my break for this!”

The fancy kid--Virgil could only remember him as Princey--smiled and nodded. “Yeah! He’s the new and improved Logan. Logan 2.0!”

“Okay, who even are you?” Dominic sneered. He gestured largely with his free hand right in the direction of Virgil, and he was forced to spin out of the way to prevent the tray from being hit out of his hands.

“I’m Logan’s manager.”

Logan’s mother scoffed and flung his hand up, again forcing Virgil to dodge the hit. “Oh, don’t listen to him.  _I’m_  Logan’s manager. I’m the one who got him his record label anyway!”

Toby nudged Logan. “You have two managers?”

“Apparently…”

“Oh, you must be a handful,” he said seductively. “Wanna make out?”

“Okay,  _this_  is exactly why I didn’t want to come today!” Logan said, addressing the whole table. “You are all money-crazy.”

Dominic gasped in offense. “Look,  _Logan_. You can either do the duet with me, or you can fade away into obscurity.”

“I--” Roman stood up, almost hitting Virgil. Again. “Have heard enough! I am Logan’s only manager, which means that I am the only one who is to speak on behalf of Logan Parker. Not his mother. Also, Logan is in charge of his own damn life. He’s going to do things his way, and he won’t be bullied by you into doing some stupid duet. Logan, let’s go.”

“Thank you so much for everything, Dominic, but good bye!” Logan suddenly stood up just as Virgil was serving him, and they both fell to the ground, sending the shrimp tray flying everywhere. Lettuce and shrimp rained down on everyone.

Virgil’s eyes had closed during the fall, but he felt a heavy weight on top of him and cracked his eyes open. Logan Parker’s dark brown eyes were staring straight into his own. Fantastic. “Can we please stop meeting like this, Logan?”

“Sorry, um…” An awkward chuckle escaped Logan as he reached up to Virgil’s face and grabbed a shrimp that had landed in Virgil’s hair. “Shrimp in your hair…” Logan pushed himself up, holding out his hand for Virgil to take. Instead of taking the offer, Virgil heaved himself off the ground, brushing lettuce off of the stupid blue vest that Dominic forced him to wear when he was working. He refused to meet Logan’s eyes, but he saw the tiny smile that was playing at his face. After a second, Logan turned and ran after Princey, escaping Dominic’s wrath.

“ _You_ ,” Dominic snarled at Virgil. “You are going to clean this entire room in thirty minutes. I want it absolutely spotless! And I’m extending your phone suspension for another month!” He stormed off after Logan.

Virgil sighed and got to work.


	3. Fairy God-Patton

“Patton, I don’t think I’m going to go to the ball...” Virgil didn’t dare look up from where he was picking away at his nylon tights. He already knew the look that Patton was giving him; he didn’t need to see it. **  
**

“What?! Virge, I’ve been working on our dresses for two weeks! You can’t cancel on me the day of!”

“I know, but come  _on_ , Pat. It’s Valentine’s day, and we don’t even have dates. It would just be miserable. Guys don’t even know that I exist. At least you’re cute!”

The glare that Patton gave Virgil was hot enough to melt steel. He pushed himself off of his elbows and into a sitting position on Virgil’s bed. “It’s a masquerade! Nobody will know who you are, and you can just flirt with cute guys.”

“Oh my god,” Virgil sighed. “It’s even  _worse_  because it’s a masquerade! First of all, you can’t even tell which guys are cute because they’re, you know, wearing a mask.”

“Hush. Let me tell you how this will go. We go to the masquerade ball, and you’ll be able to just be you instead of a fabrication of yourself made by this lame-ass high school hierarchy! Not to mention that you don’t even have to worry about making a fool of yourself because no one will know who you are if you don’t want to reveal your identity. You’ll find some guy who can dance well and looks super hot, and it’ll be--”

Virgil cut him off with a laugh. “Patton, dude, we have got to practice you breathing during rants.”

“Don’t distract me. You’re going to the ball, and that’s final, kiddo.”

“Yeah, righ--shit! I forgot to start cleaning!” Virgil jumped up from his chair and ran out the door.

“Bye!”

* * *

“Daddy!” Toby screeched, walking into where Dominic was getting a massage. “We were on our way to get manicures--you know, for the ball?”

“And?”

“And I heard Virgl talking about going to the ball!”

Dominic pushed himself up slightly, looking at his twins. “Oh, no… That won’t do at all.”

“Make him clean my room!” Ember said.

“And my closet! I think something died in there,” added Toby.

“Oh, no. I have a very special place for him to clean…”

* * *

“Virgil!”

With a muted groan, Virgil glanced up at Dominic. He was dressed in that stupid yellow bathrobe that he wore after massages, and he had equally ugly slippers on his feet. Virgil fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Yeah?”

“Next week is the twins’ sixteenth birthday--”

“Wait, didn’t they turn sixteen last year?”

Dominic pursed his lips. “Yes, and they will continue to turn sixteen until I tell them to stop. Anyway, you need to have the menu in order by tomorrow so that I can approve it. Oh, and I’m going out clubbing with what’s-his-face tonight, and it’s my turn to throw the afterparty. We will be back by midnight, so I expect that this house will be absolutely spotless upon my return.”

“Dominic, I’ve cleaned every inch of this place.”

“Oh, no, you haven’t.” Dominic smirked. “You’re going to clean my bedroom. Follow me.”

If he hadn’t promised Patton that he’d stay alive through senior year, Virgil probably would have dropped dead that instant from sheer horror. Slowly, he pushed himself up; his feet numbly moved to follow Dominic up the stairs. In the ten years that he’d been living with Dominic, there hadn’t been a single instance where Virgil had gone into Dominic’s room. This was completely uncharted territory.

And, holy shit, it was  _awful_.

Mounds of clothes in all shapes, sizes, and colors were scattered around the room. Old pizza boxes and take-out containers littered every surface, and,  _god_ , there was rancid food just laying on the floor. Natural light wouldn’t even filter through the blinds because they were so coated in dust, and the overhead lamp was barely any better. Virgil didn’t even know if this could be classified as a bedroom--it looked and smelled more like a dump.

“Dominic.” Virgil winced as his voice squeaked. “I’d need heavy equipment to clean this place. For example, a flamethrower and thirty gallons of bleach.”

“Don’t sass me, smarty pants! I can still take away your school privileges, too. You can say goodbye to those trendy little friends of yours. Or, should I say,  _friend_ , Mr. Not-So-Popular.” Dominic laughed at his joke and turned to leave, but he slipped on something and stumbled. A fucking fish stick. “Oh, and clean up these fish sticks. They’ve been here since Lent.” The door shut as he exited so violently that dust fluttered down from the ceiling fan like gray snow. Virgil sneezed.

“Gross.” While picking his way to the bed, Virgil examined the room. It was so much more disgusting up close than it was from the doorway. Gingerly, so that he wouldn’t accidentally touch anything that had the possibility of killing him, he sat down and picked up the phone, dialing Patton’s number.

_“Hey, kiddo! How’s it going?”_

“Pat, I can’t go to the ball. Dominic’s making me clean his room tonight, and there’s no way I’ll get done in time.”

“ _Oh my god,_ ” Patton’s words were slightly jumbled, and Virgil was pretty sure that he was eating a cookie. “ _You’re in his lair?!_ ”

“Dude, there are species of bugs in here still unknown to science. It’ll take me days to get this done--not even including whatever hell Dominic puts me through for not getting it all clean tonight.”

“ _I think I have an idea_ \--” Patton was cut off by a click.

_“Hello? Virgil, when I said no phone, I meant the landline, too!”_

Virgil panicked, not wanting to bear any more punishment. “Sorry! Pat, I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you on Monday.”

The phone slammed down on the dock with far more force than Virgil expected, and he flinched back. Something sticky and wet was suddenly under his hand. Gulping, he looked back and saw melted chocolate all over the silk sheets. Virgil felt lucky that it wasn’t some expired pizza, but it was still not ideal.

With a sigh, Virgil stood up to gather an entire cleaning service worth of supplies.

* * *

The doorbell rang at around nine thirty. Virgil had barely made a dent in the mess, and he’d honestly resorted to just throwing everything into garbage bins to burn. Eight of them were full already. Eight.

Virgil opened the door. “Patton! Hey, how are--Patton, please don’t tell me that those are our dresses.”

“Sorry. They are!” Patton smiled unapologetically.

“Dude, I can’t go. End of story.”

“What if I could tell you that you could go to the ball, and the room would be completely clean when you get back?”

Virgil paused, looking quizzically at Patton. “I’d say that you’re amazing, but, Pat, you can’t stay here and clean alone. That wouldn’t be fair to you.”

Patton’s grin widened. “Who said that I was alone?” He stepped out of the way, and three adults came into view. One was tall with purple hair similar to Virgil’s, the next was slightly shorter with a bright orange beanie, and the last was adorably short with colorful hair. “Virgil, meet my cousin’s boyfriend and his friends. They own a cleaning company, and were nice enough to help. Guys, meet Virgil.”

The tall one spoke up, smiling sweetly. “Oh, you’re going to the ball? That’s awesome!”

Virgil nodded as Patton spoke again. “We sure are! Thomas, Joan, and Talyn are going to clean for you. They’re the sweetest, really. Well, they’re super weird, but they’re nice, too.”

The one in the beanie scoffed. “Yeah, as if you aren’t any better! Plus, Thomas is pretty normal.” They nudged the smaller one. “Talyn is pretty weird, though. They don’t really have anything to say otherwise.” Talyn punched Joan on the shoulder in retaliation, but they both laughed.

Virgil smiled as he watched what was happening. As much as it hurt to see such a healthy, family-like dynamic, he was really happy that Patton had such wonderful people in his life. As soon as the bantering died off, he showed the cleaning crew upstairs. Just before he opened the doors to the bedroom, Virgil glanced back. “It’s a mess in there. I’m just warning you now.”

“Oh, that’s alright!” Thomas said. “Our motto is ‘there’s no mess that’s too messy!’”

Virgil shrugged and opened the doors. Bins lined the walls, and most of the mountains of dirty clothes still remained. It looked the same--if not worse--as it did when Virgil had started six hours earlier.

“Holy shmokes. That… That’s too messy, Patton.”

“Thomas, you promised!” Patton threw on his best puppy eyes, and Thomas all but groaned in complacency. “Thanks! I love you!” In a flash, he grabbed Virgil’s hand and sprinted out of the bedroom to Virgil’s room in the pool house.

“Geez, Pat, slow down!”

“I can’t! We’ve got to get ready!” The door to Virgil’s room slammed shut behind them, and with shining eyes, Patton held out one of the clothes bags. “Get dressed. We’re going to that ball.”


	4. Black-And-White Ball

Logan sighed as he leaned back in his chair. Being at this school dance just reminded him of why he absolutely hated being around people. During the ten minutes that he’d been sitting at his table, he’d already heard three fights break out over people wearing the same dresses, someone be called a slut because they were smiling at someone else’s boyfriend, and about three dozen rumors that Logan Parker was at the dance somewhere. Well, shocker, Logan  _was_  there. He just didn’t care much for the frivolous socializing, especially since people would just flip out when they found out that the guy who was flirting with them was Logan fucking Parker. But it was fun being famous, right?

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up when he heard a familiar voice from behind. “Oh, is that Logan? That’s him--no, wait… It’s not.”

_Ember._

“Yeah, of course not!” And Toby? Logan brought his hand to his face to check that his mask was secure. “Logan can dance, so if we see a man who can dance, that’ll be it.”

“Well,” Remy drawled. His voice felt so close to Logan that the dancer shivered. “Tell me when you find him, okay?”

“Remy! Uh, hey! We were just looking for you!” Toby’s voice shook slightly as he regarded the alpha friend.

“...Right.”

Without trying to bring much attention to himself, Logan stood up and walked over to Roman, who was standing by the snacks.

“Lo, my best friend, the sorcerer to my prince, why did you tell me that this was a costume party?” Roman was dressed like an angel. Huge, white wings were strapped to his back with a matching white mask on his face.

“Aw, come on. You look great, Roman.”

The angel pouted. “None of the guys take me seriously like this! How am I supposed to find a dashing prince when I look like this?”

“I’m sure that you’ll find someone who thinks you look cute.”

“Yeah, well, whatever.” Roman looked as though he was going to continue for a moment, but his eyes fixed on a point over Logan’s shoulder. “Looks like I’m not the only one who didn’t get the memo…”

Logan turned around and saw two people descending the staircase into the ballroom. One was dressed in a flowy white satin dress that sparkled blue and pink in the light, and the other had on a deep purple dress with plaid patches and purple lace sleeves. The one in white had a white, lacy mask that matched his dress, but his friend’s was plain black. Logan couldn’t take his eyes off of the one in purple.

He was beautiful.

* * *

“Patton,” Virgil whispered harshly. “Everyone is staring at us!”

“Yeah, and it’s because we look beautiful!”

Virgil caught Patton’s elbow. “We should go. People are going to figure out that it’s us, and they already make fun of me for being trans and you for wearing all those colors. I don’t want to be the laughing stock of the whole school, Pat.”

“We won’t be.” Patton smiled gently. “It’ll all be okay.”

All Virgil did was grumble and to go down the stairs. He made a bee-line to the food table, desperate for something to soothe his nerves a bit. He bit into a brownie and turned--

“Hey!”

Virgil had no idea who this guy was. He was tall with brown hair, but most of his face was hidden behind a silver mask. There was no way to identify him, especially due to his plain suit. Panicking, Virgil turned to Patton and nodded towards the tall boy.

“Talk to him!” Patton mouthed. And then he walked away.  _Great_.

“Um, hey…?” Virgil greeted the boy awkwardly. “Do you, um, want something to drink?” The boy held up his cup of water and swished it a bit. “Oh, um…”

* * *

Patton stepped around Virgil and the boy who took interest in him to talk to the guy dressed as an angel. He’d seen him while he was on the stairs, and he had immediately wanted to know more about him.

“Are you supposed to be some sort of angel?” Patton internally slapped himself for asking a stupid, snarky question to someone who he found cute.

“Yes! Thank you for taking notice of my fantastic costume, my prince.” Angel boy bowed deeply.

Patton smirked; he could play this flirting game. “Well, it certainly is…  _something_.”

“Come, now! I’m trying to woo you here. What will it take for me to win over the heart of such a handsome knight as yourself? Oh! Would it help if I said that I’m best friend’s with Logan Parker?”

“Is that supposed to impress me?” Patton mentally cheered himself on for keeping his tone flat and unimpressed.

“Well, yes… However, I think that I have another trick up my sleeve.” In one fluid motion, angel boy dipped Patton. It was an absolute miracle that Patton’s white masked covered the blush that was spreading on his face. Angel boy gracefully stood them back up. “So…?”

“I suppose that I can let it slide,” Patton sighed jokingly. “Wanna dance?”

* * *

A loud surge of bass at the end of the song playing drowned out mystery boy’s voice, and Virgil had no idea what he was trying to say.

“What?”

He said something else, still unheard.

“Did you say that you want to--”

“Do you want to dance?” The boy shouted as soon as the song ended. He winced at how loud his own voice was, but still extended a hand to Virgil.

Virgil squinted at him. “You do realize that I’m a guy, right?”

The boh laughed gently. “Well, I would hope you were a guy because I’m not looking to dance with any girls.”

“Oh… Then, yeah. I’ll dance with you.” He smirked and started to walk over to the DJ. “If you can keep up, of course.” When he got to the DJ station, he handed over his iPod and gave directions on which track to play. Just before it started, he raced back over to his partner.

For once, Virgil was glad that he’d been taught the following position in dances. He was smoothly able to dance with mystery boy, and he even added his own flare. It felt like they were on fire as the dance floor traveled beneath their feet with fluidity. Virgil did a few tricks that were moreso show than practical, but mystery boy followed without slipping up once. His partner spun him out, allowing him to do a few more spins on the floor, and the light fabric of his dress puffed out as--

“Stop!”

Something slippery wedged its way under Virgil’s shoes, and his feet slipped out from under him. Without any grace, he hit the floor in a heap. Black and white M&Ms were rolling all over the floor. He shouldn’t have come. He never should have fucking come to this stupid dance.

“Hey, oh my god, I’m so sorry. Here--” The mystery boy was standing over him with his hand out to help Virgil up. Begrudgingly, he took it and allowed himself to be heaved off of the ground. They stared at each other for what felt like too long, but the boy spoke up again. “You were… You were incredible out there.” The boy took off his mask.

_Are you fucking kidding me?_

Virgil had been dancing with Logan Parker.  _The_  Logan Parker.

A heavy hand on his shoulder pulled him from the moment. Patton whispered in his ear, “Virge, we’ve gotta go.”

Virgil glanced up at the clock, which read eleven forty-five.

_Shit._

_Oh, shit!_

_No. Nonononono--_

“Sorry, I’m late!” Virgil rushed, pushing Logan away. He ran over to the DJ and pulled his iPod out of the speaker without even asking. As he was rushing over to the stairs, he instinctively tried to put it back in his pocket, but he forgot that he didn’t have his sweatshirt on, and he’d let go before he realized. The clattering of his iPod--the only source of calm at home--on the dance floor made him cringe, but there wasn’t any time to stop. He had to get home, and he didn’t even have the time to do that.

When he reached the top of the stairs with Patton, he turned back to have one last look at the ball. Logan was holding his iPod, staring up at him as he left. Virgil turned and ran from the venue.

* * *

“Patton, come on! I have to get home!”

“I’m going as fast as I can without getting a ticket, Virge!” Patton switched gears, but a huge clanking sound reverberated through the van.

“No! That wasn’t--”

The van slowed while Patton pulled up to the curb. “I’m so sorry. The check engine light wasn’t even on!”

“Shit. Fuck, Patton, I’ve gotta go.” Virgil flung himself out of the car, ditching his shoes and mask inside, and began to sprint home. He was only a few streets over, and it wouldn’t take him more than a few minutes to get there, but he knew that Dominic would have his head if he found out about this whole situation.

Just as Virgil ran into the driveway, he saw the headlights of Dominic’s limo turn the corner. A distressed noise escaped from his throat as he rushed inside. Thomas, Joan, and Talyn were coming down the stairs with their cleaning supplies, and they greeted Virgil as he entered.

“No! Guys, he’s right outside. Go!” They sprinted up the stairs and into Dominic’s room. Dominic’s loud, drunk rambling floated upstairs at the same moment that Virgil shut the door behind them. He ushered his new friends into Dominic’s bathroom, knowing full well that Dominic wouldn’t be going in there for a while. The violent panic in Virgil almost went away until he realized that he was still in his dress. Internally screaming at himself, he threw on the nearest robe and flung himself on the bed.

The bedroom door swung open, and a drunken Dominic stumbled inside. He sat down next to Virgil, swaying just slightly. “Well, you certainly did it.” He paused. “You like my after party? It’s a real rager!” Pause. “Oh, who am I kidding? I’m a Mr. Not-So-Popular just like you!” Pause. “I am just so  _tired_.” Dominic suddenly slumped onto Virgil’s lap, completely out cold, and fell to the floor. Virgil took this opportunity to rush over to the bathroom and let Thomas, Joan, and Talyn out. He silently thanked them for their help as he ushered them downstairs and outside.

As soon as they had driven away, Virgil made his way to his own bedroom to undress and process everything. Less than an hour earlier, he had been dancing with Logan Parker. The same Logan that he’d secretly been crushing on since well before he’d been a pop star. And, fuck, Virgil wanted that so badly, but… it had no chance of happening. People like Logan didn’t end up with people like Virgil. That just wasn’t how the world worked.

With a sigh, Virgil slipped on some pajamas and passed out on his bed.


	5. The Sound of Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some warnings for this chapter: rejection and logan being an asshole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a few people asked me about dominic using both she/her and he/him pronouns, and the explanation is that it’s just me fucking things up. like, that’s it. you can hc him however you want, idc, but I’m just stupid.

Logan had been buzzing with anticipation all weekend over who his mystery guy could be, and he could tell that it was getting on Roman’s nerves no matter how much he claimed to be a sucker for a good romance, but it was just… He was absolutely captivated, and the only clue that he had towards the identity of his mystery man was an iPod. That in and of itself should be a huge clue because, honestly, who had an iPod in 2018, but that was just it. Who even had an iPod? Not a single person that he could think of. **  
**

With that dead-end in mind, Logan turned to yearbooks. He knew that there was a possibility that he had danced with a freshman or sophomore, but he obviously didn’t have access to yearbooks from the previous year, so he had to rely on his own freshman and sophomore yearbooks. Those, too, came up with a dead-end. He found someone close--Patton King--who, in sophomore year, had dyed his full head bright blue, but the bouncy curls were completely different to the light waves in the hair of whomever he had danced with.

Logan had begrudgingly told Roman that they would have to take this search more public. Sure, there were mysteries that Logan simply wouldn’t be able to solve, but this one was so much more complicated than he had originally thought, and he was certainly going to need help.

“Hey, um, Mx. Elliott…”

“Oh, Logan! Welcome back to school--though, I’m a bit hurt that it took you this long to come and visit me.”

Logan blushed a bit. He felt bad about not visiting, but there were only so many hours in the day where he had time off. “I’m so sorry, Mx. I promise that I’ll stop here more often.” There was an awkward pause as Logan thought of what to say next. “So… How is Mitchell doing?”

“Oh. I broke up with him for good. I took yours and Joan’s advice, and I kicked him out of my apartment about six weeks ago.” They fiddled a bit with the sleeve of their sweater uncomfortably. For years, Elliott had been a good friend of Logan’s, but they were dating this awful guy named Mitchell for just as long. Elliott’s self esteem was ripped to shreds time and time again, and they had a hard time listening to their cousin, Joan, and Logan’s advice.

“I’m very proud of you for doing that. I’m sure that it took a lot of strength, and I’m glad that you’ve gotten your life back into your own hands.” Logan paused and held out the iPod. “However, I didn’t come here merely to talk pleasantries. I need to find someone. I danced with him at the ball, and he dropped this, and--”

Elliott smirked. “And you fell in love?”

“What? No! No, of course not.” Tick. “Well…” Tock. “Maybe…” Tick. “But it’s none of your business!”

“You literally came here for my assistance, Logan. It is by definition my business now.”

“Hush! Just--Roman--PA!” Logan pushed Roman, who had been standing there silently, at the PA system to make the announcement.

And, in normal Roman fashion, it was ridiculously extra. “Ladies, lords, and non-binary royalty, The Prince is on the mic to ask you all formally if you have seen a handsome lad who ditched my best friend Logie--”

“Logie?!”

Roman covered the microphone with his hand as he hissed, “Logan didn’t rhyme there!”

“Shut up and hand over the mic,” Logan growled as he pushed Roman out of the chair and sat down. “Hello. It’s me, Logan Parker.” He took a deep, calming breath. “On Saturday, I danced with one of the most amazing people. You left in a hurry, and you ended up dropping your iPod on the ground. In all honesty, it was the best night of my life, and I want to give you back your iPod, so… if you are able to name the top four songs on your playlist, I’ll return the iPod to you. And maybe we can get coffee or something. Roman and I will be sitting in the center of the cafeteria at lunch so that we can find you.” He unclicked the on button of the PA, and sat back.

“You Gucci, Specs?” Roman asked.

“Yeah. I think so. This should be easy.”

* * *

“Okay, Chris. Go.” Logan felt every ounce of his soul drain from his body as his eyes flicked over to the dozens of students lined up to try and prove that they were his mystery guy.

“‘Livin’ la Vida Loca,’ ‘Maria,’ ‘She Bangs,’ and ‘Shake Your Bon-Bon.’ All by Ricky Martin.”

Logan swiped at a puddle of tears that had been left on the lunchroom table with his hand. “Sorry, but that isn’t it.”

The boy stormed off, and Logan let his head fall into his hands. This was a disaster. Logan mentally kicked himself for not being able to recognize who he was looking for right off the bat. He was such an idio--

“Hey, Lo. Do you want me to go around the line and kick out the excesses?” Roman whispered gently.

“God, please do.” Logan looked up; he felt like he was going to cry. “They’re all the same cookie-cutter Hollywood guys, Ro. That guy from the ball was special, but… what if I can’t find him?”

“Are you kidding? You are  _the_  Logan Parker! I have no doubt in my mind that we’ll find him.” He smiled. “I think he helped pull you out of your slump. There’s no way I’m letting a guy like that go.”

“Thanks, Roman.”

“Hey, what else is a prince for?”

* * *

Virgil shivered as he felt cold water drip down the back of his neck, no doubt staining it with streaks of purple. He had been unlucky enough to fall asleep during his second block class, and one of his asshole classmates got their hands on some glitter glue and wrote transphobic slurs in his hair. It was pretty standard for shit like that to happen, but Virgil had only dyed his hair again yesterday to it’s full purple potential, so it sucked that he had to wash it again. And Patton was pissed. That was pretty normal, too.

“If that teacher had known any better, she would have reported that guy for harassment!”

“Pat, just leave it. She was doing what would protect me from the wrath of administration. If she had reported him, she would have had to explain why I didn’t stop him, which would have gotten me in trouble, and I probably would have been taken out of school by Dominic. I’m already on thin enough ice. Mrs. Larsen was helping me.” Virgil began to ascend the cafeteria stairs, slipping around people who were stationed on the sides.

“That’s still such bullsh--”

Virgil pulled Patton to the side of the stairs with enough force to dislocate a shoulder. “Shut the fuck up for a second and look.”

“Holy--”

“I didn’t think he’d actually do it!” A dozen yards away sat the longest line of people that Virgil had ever seen outside of a Black Friday sale at the Gucci store in Los Angeles. And there was Logan at the head. “Are you fucking serious?”

“Virge, you’ve gotta go down there and tell him before someone starts a riot!”

“No!” Virgil turned to Patton. “No way.”

Patton wildly gestured at Logan. “He said that it was the best night of his life.”

“Yeah. Until he finds out that it was me.” He threw another glance at Logan. “Let’s just go.”

Virgil and Patton continued to their classes, but underneath the stairs, Toby and Ember had heard everything.

* * *

The second that Virgil entered the house, Toby and Ember were there to intercept him.

“Look at you, acting all innocent!” Toby snarled. Virgil needed to know that they weren’t going to let him steal Logan away.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Virgil looked confused and tried to evade the twins.

“Oh,” Ember said, gripping Virgil’s arm tightly. “We know it was you at the ball with Logan.”

There was a short pause before Virgil said, “You guys are crazy.”

“No, actually, you’re the crazy one if you think that we’re going to let you end up with Logan, you weird stalker!”

“And if you tell him that it was you,” Toby interjected, waving one of the copies of Virgil’s video in the air. “Your video will be everywhere. Hello, YouTube!”

Virgil scoffed. “You guys can barely work the toaster, let alone YouTube.”

“Try us.”

Ember pushed Virgil away. “Go make dinner. We’re hungry.”

Virgil stared at the twins for a few moments and walked away. Toby turned and went to the door.

“Hey, Toby, where’re you going?”

Toby froze. “None of your business, Ember! I mean, uh, nowhere. For a walk… Uh, outside.”

“Oh. Okay, bye!”

“Yeah, bye.” Toby slipped out the front door and went straight to Virgil’s room. “Playlist. I need to find that playlist.”

Clothes, pencils, notebooks, and everything in between was scattered through Virgil’s room as Toby searched. For twenty minutes, he found nothing, until…

“Aha! Hidden in plain sight, of course!” He lifted up a pillow and found an old Macbook. Without a second of hesitation, he opened it up and went to iTunes. “Okay… ‘Dying in LA,’ ‘Save Rock and Roll,’ ‘Freeze Your Brain,’ ‘Defying Gravity,’ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ Perfect!” He scribbled the titles onto the back of his right hand and went to make his leave, but the door swung open right as he was about to open it, and he was flung into the wall.

Ember sauntered into the room and gasped when he saw the laptop. He picked it up to find the songs, but it tumbled right out of his hands and onto the floor. It was obvious from the loud cracking sound that the laptop wasn’t going to be useable anymore.

* * *

“Can you give me a hint as to what genre the songs are?” Chris asked, pressing closer to Roman and Logan. “Are they emo? Metal? Electroclash? Latin pop???”

“Okay, everyone! Disperse yourselves.” Roman hopped up from his seat at the table to usher people away. “Come back… after class or something. Logan’s going to take a break.”

Logan slumped in his seat and waited for Roman to return to speak. “I’m never going to find him. This is hopeless.”

“Hold up. What is this illogical garbage that I’m hearing from you, Logan?” Roman looked more offended than usual.

“It’s not illogical, though.” It was more of a question than a statement.

“It most certainly is! Say there’s an equal fifty-fifty distribution of males and females at our school--excluding the lovely non-binaries, which would make up around 1% of our school, probably. That means that there are about 750 males at our school currently. Sure, the odds don’t seem great, but there’s a chance. Therefore, Logan, we must keep hope that you will find your prince.” Roman smirked. “Logical enough for you, Specs?”

Logan smiled a bit. “Go away.”

“Nah. I’d never ditch my best friend, Lo--”

_“Logan Parker!”_

“Toby,” Roman sighed, standing up to escort the twin away. “Dude, Logan is on a break. Please come back during business hours, or you can send a letter that will be processed in five to seven business days.”

“Oh, of course. I’m actually in the mood for a prince…” Toby flirtatiously traced his finger on Roman’s collar.

“Are you serious?”

“No! Get out of my way!” Roman was flung backwards with a surprising amount of force, and Logan was only able to stare at his best friend as Toby approached. “I’m The One, Logan!”

Logan didn’t even have the energy to muster a laugh. “Yeah, right.”

“I can prove it. I know all of the songs on the playlist.”

“Of course. Do go on.”

Toby smiled a dazzling smile. Well, dazzling in the blinding way with his bright orange, sparkly braces bands. “‘Dying in LA,’ ‘Save Rock and Roll,’ ‘Freeze Your Brain,’ ‘Defying Gravity,’ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody!’”

Roman rejoined Logan and whispered, “This is impossible. Right?”

“Ha! I’m right! Kiss me!” Toby surged forward, and Logan almost fell backwards trying to evade him.

“Woah, holy--wait!” Logan held Toby at arm’s length. “You’ve got to dance first.”

“What?!” Toby spluttered. “But--I already told you the songs! That’s all you asked. And I’m not warmed up, and there’s no music!”

Roman sighed dramatically, hanging off of Logan. “Logan, darling, he’s  _obviously_  not the one you’re looking for. I mean, he can’t even dance for you.”

“Oh, you’re right!” Logan swerved around Toby. “Well, see ya!”

“No, wait!” Toby grabbed Logan’s hand and spun him back to the table. “I  _love_  to dance!”

Logan watched in horror-filled awe as Toby started to “dance” in harsh, seizing motions. In all honesty, he hadn’t expected anything like  _that_. Roman, completely unfazed, decided that it was time to leave, and he dragged Logan away as Toby continued to dance.

* * *

Logan was tired. He was really fucking tired of having being, well… for being Logan Parker. It honestly just sucked to be famous. Which sounded stupid and pretentious, but it was true. People fawned over him, and he just wanted some coffee, but there was only shitty canned espresso in an overpriced vending machine, so here he was. In a random hallway getting coffee. He jabbed at the coffee button and leaned down to grab the can. As he stood up, he came face to face with Ember standing in what he could only construe as a seductive position against the vending machine.

“Woah, okay, Ember…”

“Ready to meet your mystery guy, Logan?”

“You know the songs, too? God, can I just catch a break?” Logan ran a hand through his hair and started to walk away, but Ember tugged him back.

_What is with these twins and tugging people around?_

“But I’m the real freaking one! And I freaking love you, so you’d better freaking love me back, you freaking freak!” Ember yelled. Logan blinked a few times at the outburst.

“Way, way,  _way_  deep inside, I’m sure that you’re a… decent person, Ember, but I’ve really got to go--”

“I can prove it!” He threw his backpack on the ground with a dull plop. “Through dance!”

Before Ember could even get very far into his equally as awful dance, Logan ditched the scene, eager to find Roman to get out of the school for his off period.

* * *

 

“Oh my god, Virge. I can’t believe the twins would hold that video against you! You were literally eleven.”

Virgil ate another spoonful of frosting from the tub that Patton had bought him, glaring out the windshield at nothing in particular. “What do I do? I don’t want Logan to think that I’m a fucking stalker! Not to mention the fact that he obviously doesn’t remember me from pre-transition, so he’d find out about that, too. People like me don’t belong with people like him.”

“Look,” Patton said seriously; although, the off-kilter blue bow in his hair made it a little difficult to actually take him seriously. “You and Logan clicked out there on the dancefloor. You have to talk to him.”

“Nuh uh.”

“Yuh huh--oh, look!” Patton pointed out the window at Roman and Logan passing by. “It’s showtime, Virgil! You’ve got this.”

“Yeah! I can do this.” Virgil reached over to open the door, but he whipped around again. “Wait, you know what? Let’s get some food first.”

“Yeah, no,” Patton deadpanned.

“Fuck, fine!” Virgil rushed out of the van before he chickened out and walked over to Logan’s car. “Hey, Logan. I need to tell you something really important.”

“Oh!” Logan smiled charmingly, and damn this stupid crush that Virgil had. “Hello. You work for Dominic, correct?”

“What? No! That’s not what--”

Roman, from the other side of the car, giggled. “You had shrimp in your hair.”

Virgil glared at him. “Well, I mean… Yeah, that was me, but that isn’t what I wanted to say.” He took a deep breath. “I’m--”

“Oh my god!” Logan threw his hands in the air in frustration. “Seriously? Dominic is relentless. First Toby, then Ember, and now you, too?” He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. “Just… I’m looking for someone, okay? I don’t have time to talk. Especially not about that stupid duet. I’ve gotta go… It was nice seeing you.”

Roman and Logan sat in their seats, and Virgil took a few steps back as they pulled out. He watched them for a few seconds before racing back to Patton’s van. Without hesitation, he whipped open the door and grabbed his back and skateboard from the floor.

“I told you, Pat.”

“Oh my god, he blew you off!”

Virgil sighed and backed away a bit. “Whatever.” He slammed the door shut and skated off, ignoring the tears that fell down his cheeks.


	6. Dancing's Not a Crime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: anxiety, panic attacks, people being straight up assholes

_BZZT_.

_“Virgil, I’ve called you out of school today so that you can stay home for the twins’ party. Remember to finish making the food—oh, and make some extra just in case those assholes from the paper come. Make everything extra fancy. Double check that everything is spotless—don’t forget to clean up that mess on the stairs where you spilled that face mask. And call the florist to schedule the drop time.”_

_BZZT_.

Virgil only allowed himself to groan for half of a second before he sat up and pressed the intercom button. “What else do I have to live for?”

_“That’s the spirit!”_

It had been just over two days since the incident with Logan, and Virgil had spent the entirety of those days with the sole mission to avoid the star. Even though he continued to tell himself that he’d never had a crush on Logan in the first place, the rejection still stung.

With a sigh, Virgil brushed his thoughts away and got up to clean. The food wouldn’t cook itself, after all, and Virgil still somewhat valued his life.

Barely.

* * *

It was honestly a miracle that Virgil hadn’t yet lost his hearing through the intense bass and Dominic’s incessant screaming--sorry,  _singing_. The party had been raging for… a whole thirty minutes. Cool. Awesome.

Thankfully, the music cut out as Dominic announced the twins. They descended the stairs in matching orange and black, smiling and waving at the audience that was barely paying attention to them. Virgil would have laughed if he weren’t right under Dominic’s nose.

Virgil served another few crab cakes and made his way around the crowd for a couple of minutes when someone’s hands landed on his shoulders, causing him to nearly jump out of his skin. He whirled around to find Patton standing with a happy grin on his face. It took a second for Virgil to process the emotions he was feeling, but once he did, he took in Patton’s outfit. Usually, he was dressed in some funky, off-beat clothes, but Patton was wearing a beautiful light blue tiered skirt that flowed from his waist to his ankles and a sparkly silver crop top with long sleeves. If Patton had looked like a fairy at the ball, he looked like an angel now.

“Patton, what are you doing here? Oh my god, you look amazing!”

“Aw, Virge, thank you! I finished it last week, and I was waiting to show you.” Patton giggled, wrapping his arm around Virgil’s waist. “And I’m here to help, kiddo. Hand over your tray, and I’ll get started on serving these.”

“You are my hero! Okay, I’ll be right back.”

* * *

“Lo, the whole school is here! I’m sure your mystery man will be here.”

_“I don’t have that much faith in you, Roman. You aren’t particularly good at staying on task--”_

“Oh!” Roman gasped as his eyes fell on a beautiful boy with startlingly familiar curls. “I’ll call you back.”

_“Wait, stay--”_

Roman hung up the call and walked forward, straightening his gold tie as he went. Not only was it lucky that Roman had finally identified his own mysterious prince, but he would know exactly who Logan was looking for!

“Excuse me?”

The boy turned around, an almost concerned expression on his delightfully soft face. The silver eyeliner brought attention to his beautifully brown eyes. Roman might have dropped dead right then and there if he hadn’t heard the boy reply, “Oh, I’m sorry. Do you want a crab cake?”

“Wh--No! No, just… Your purple highlights look extremely familiar.” The boy tilted his head ever so slightly in confusion. “You might not recognize me without my angel wings. I’m The Prince!”

“The who?”

“The Prince--You know, the dip? You can’t forget me dipping you!” Roman made an exaggerated gesture.

The boy giggled, leaning in flirtatiously. “I’m sorry, no…”

“I’m Logan Parker’s best friend!”

“Oh, is that supposed to impress me?” The fluttered eyelashes of this boy would be enough to make an entire army fall to their knees, but Roman was just too overjoyed at having found his beauty.

“I knew you were the one! It’s Patton, right?”

“Ah, a good memory, Roman.”

They laughed together for a second before Roman remembered his mission. “Oh! Is your friend here? Logan is waiting outside, and he is absolutely head over heels!”

“Virgil? Yeah, he’s here!”

“Fantastic! Go get him, and I’ll bring Logan inside. This is going to be magnificent!” He waited until Patton had run off to find Virgil to call Logan. “I found him!”

_“Christ, Roman, could you be any louder?”_

“Are you frowning? You had better not be frowning.”

_“I am allowed to display my frustration with your antics, and your inability to stay on task.”_

“God, Specs, did you not hear what I said? I found your man! He’s in here.”

_“If you’re kidding, I won’t hesitate to throw you in front of a moving bus.”_

Roman let out an exasperated groan. “I’m not! Just get your ass in here so I can set you and your man up and then be free to go make out with my own lovely prince. Oh, that would be a good motivator. You see, after you get with your prince, I’ll go off with my own, and we’ll find a lovely secluded place. I’ll hold his face in my hands, and we’ll slowly--”

_“Ew, Jesus, Roman, shut up! I’m coming inside right now! Stop your disgusting rambling.”_

“Okay, okay. See you in a minute.”

_“Good bye, idiot.”_

* * *

Virgil was only half way done with setting up another tray of crab cakes when Patton began to drag him out to the dance floor. He managed to grab the tray before they got out of the kitchen, luckily, and he was able to force an answer as to why he was being violently pulled around the house.

“Because Logan is here, and he wants to meet you, obviously! Roman recognized me, so he asked to bring you out here so you and Logan can get together. We’re gonna march on over there, and you’ll tell Logan that you’re his mystery guy.”

“Pat, you can’t be serious—“

“Oh, dear! That poor man over there looks very hungry. Good bye!” Patton gently shoved Virgil in front of Logan and turned away.

Virgil looked up and made eye contact with Logan.  _Shit_ …

“Um, hello there…?”

“Hey,” Virgil said. “Uh, crab cake?” He held the tray out as an offering because  _holy shit_  he didn’t want to do this.

“No, thank you. I’m actually looking for someone.” Logan paused, leaning in a bit closer. “Have you seen a guy here who can dance like nobody you’ve ever seen before?”

“Actually, yeah, I have. It’s actually kind of funny, since I—“

_“My name is Victoria Santiago.”_

_No_. Virgil spun around to face the TV screen. Ember, Toby, and Remy were all smirking at him.

_“I’d like to send this video to Logan Parker.”_

_This can’t be real._

_“Totally kissable.”_

A hand settled on his shoulder. “Is… Is that you?”

_Everyone is laughing at you._

_Stalker_.

 _Creep_.

Without a second thought, Virgil ripped himself from Logan’s grasp and ran out the patio door, grabbing his hoodie from the coat rack as he went. Tears were running in tracks down his face, but he couldn’t stop them. Choked sobs escaped him as he collapsed into one of the deck chairs. He was  _humiliated_.

The patio door squeaked as it opened, and Virgil jumped over one of the short hedges and covered his mouth. It would only be worse if someone saw him like this. Footsteps echoed softly and stopped.

“Virgil?” Of course, it was Logan. “I know you’re out here. I just… I need to talk to you.” Virgil didn’t make a sound. “Please. I have spent an entire week looking for you, and I am not going to let one childish prank ruin my opportunity. Where are you?”

Virgil accidentally let out a rogue whimper, and although he clamped his hand over his mouth, he knew that Logan had heard him. He resigned himself to his crying and let his head fall to his knees while Logan walked over.

“Would you like me to engage in physical contact with you, or would you like me to just sit?”

“Sit,” Virgil gruffly commanded.

There was a bit of rustling as Logan sat down, but it soon fell quiet. Logan was sitting rather close, but he imagined that it was because he didn’t know how to properly care for someone having a panic attack. They sat in perfect silence until Virgil had mostly calmed down.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

There was an awkward pause as Logan thought of what to say. Virgil peeked through his bangs at the boy next to him.

“So… You are the one I danced with at the ball.”

“Yep.”

“And I,” Logan groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “God, I was a complete asshole to you.”

“Yep.”

“I’m very sorry about that, Virgil. As Roman would say, it was rather ungentlemanly of me. I mean, you seem so nice and kind compared to the twins, so I really should have given you the benefit of the doubt—“

“Look, Logan…” Virgil properly lifted his head, making direct eye contact with his companion. “You don’t have to humor me. I’m not some charity case, and I certainly don’t need your pity.”

Logan looked horrified. “No! I would never do that to someone. I like you for you, Virgil. You are very kind and genuine and handsome, and it would be an absolute pleasure to get to know you more. This is not pity; I swear.”

“Oh… Okay.”

“Really? I lay out my feelings, and you just say, ‘okay?’” A small smile formed on Logan’s face.

“Well, shit, man. What did you want me to say?”

“I don’t know. Maybe that I’m ‘totally kissable?’”

Virgil felt his face flush. “Woah, hold up! I was—That was years ago! Remember, I also thought that I was a girl at the time, so my judgement was obviously clouded, so…”

“That’s too bad because I think that you’re totally kissable.” Logan signed dramatically and looked up at the sky like a protagonist in an edgy young adult novel.

“Really?” His voice wasn’t much more than a whisper.

“Of course. You are rather cute.”

“Yeah, right.”

Logan turned his head, and a deadly smirk played at his lips. “Would you like me to prove it?”

“God, yes.” Virgil leaned in a bit, allowing Logan to cup his cheek gently as they met for a kiss.

It was sweet and soft. It was the perfect first kiss. Virgil was the first one to pull away, and he was glad that he caught the pouty look on Logan’s face for just a second before it returned to normal.

“That was… satisfactory.”

“Just shut up and kiss me, nerd.”


	7. The Walls Kept Tumbling Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for cheating, deceit, lying, break ups, and verbal arguments

For the first time since his mom had died, Virgil woke up excited. He was a hyper mess until lunch when Patton drove him home to check the mail. The van had barely stopped moving by the time that Virgil had jumped out and sprinted to the mailbox. His hands caught hold of the thick parchment envelope, and he nearly screamed, tearing it out of the mailbox and ripping open the flap.

_Virgil Santiago,_

_We have reviewed your application for the Manhattan Academy for Arts and Language, and we are thrilled to announce that we would like to schedule an audition for you. We will be contacting you within the next few days._

Virgil screamed the whole way back to the van. Patton was screaming too, and he launched himself over the center console to hug his friend.

He did it! Holy shit,  _he did it!_

“Pat, we have to go tell Logan! Move your ass to the driver’s seat and drive!”

It was rather obvious knowledge that Patton was the more talkative of the pair, but Virgil didn’t shut up once for the whole ride to the school. He didn’t even stop talking until he found Logan in the hallway, which is when Virgil turned from babbling endlessly to sprinting to his boyfriend and tackling him in a hug.

“Virge! Not that I’m complaining about the hug, but what’s got you so, um, ‘touchy-feely’ as Roman would put it?” Logan gently wrapped his hands around Virgil’s waist and set him down on the floor.

“I made it!”

“Made wha--Oh! Oh my goodness! Virgil, that’s amazing! When’s the audition?”

Virgil bounced around excitedly. “I don’t know! They said they’ll call in the next few days, but I doubt it’ll be until Monday since it’s Friday, and I’m sure their offices are closed on Saturdays--definitely Sundays, at least--and”

Logan clasped his hand over the smaller boy’s face, earning a dirty look. “Calm down, starlight. You’re going to give yourself a panic attack if you don’t take a second to breathe.” Virgil begrudgingly followed his instructions and breathed in the familiar four-seven-eight pattern that he knew so well.

“Okay. I’m calm. I’m good.”

“Alright.” Logan gave a soft, loving smile, but it quickly turned into a tiny smirk. “You know, it might serve you well to learn some moves from a professional. Your amateur dancing has gotten you this far, but you could always have a bit of extra help.”

“Shut the fuck up, nerd. As if I’d learn anything from  _you_.” Virgil slapped his boyfriend’s chest gently but smiled nonetheless. “Besides, Dominic’s going clubbing in San Francisco this weekend. I can’t have anyone over.”

“It’s not like Dominic will ever have to know that I came over.”

A wry smile tugged at Virgil’s lips. “Lo, I didn’t know you were such a bad boy.” He was joking; Logan was very comfortable about being asexual, and Virgil was cool with that. It was just so fun to mess with him.

“What do you mean?” He cocked his head slightly. “I’m just visiting your house; it’s no different from if you were to be going to mine.”

“Never mind. When are you free to come over?”

“I spend Friday afternoons to complete my homework, so… Tomorrow?”

“Sounds good.” Virgil stood up on his tip toes and placed a light kiss on Logan’s lips. “See you then, nerd.”

“Bye, emo nightmare.”

* * *

_“Hello? This is Emile Picani from the Manhattan Academy for Arts and Language. I’m calling to speak to Virgil Santiago. Is he around?”_

Dominic paused the show he was watching. Virgil had an audition? That wasn’t good. “I’m Virgil’s guardian. What do you want?”

_“Well, I need to schedule a time for Virgil’s audition. I was wondering--”_

“Oh…” Dominic let out a displeased noise. “Actually, Virgil isn’t able to audition anymore.”

_“Why not?”_

“He… Well, he broke both of his legs. Darn things were so weak that they just--” He snapped his fingers.

_“Oh! That’s awful; I’m so sorry. Do you know when he’ll be better?”_

“That’s the thing… His dancing career is over.”

_“Oh no!”_

Dominic tsked. “Oh yes. We’d really appreciate it if you didn’t call again; it just reminds us all of Virgil’s destroyed dancing career.”

_“Okay, well… Send him my condol--”_

“Yeah, goodbye.” Dominic hung up the phone and put it back on the dock. That stupid phone call almost made him late for his ride.

* * *

Virgil hopped out of Logan’s car, excited to hang out with his boyfriend for once. He ran up to the door and stopped flat in his tracks. On the door, Dominic had taped a list of chores for the evening. What luck.

Logan had finally caught up with his boyfriend as he removed the paper from the door. “What’s that?”

“List of chores from Dominic to be done tonight. Fold the laundry, organize Toby’s makeup collection, clean out the shoe closet…”

“Well,” Logan said, reaching around Virgil to grab the list out of his hand. “It’s not that bad. It should only take an… Oh…” His voice trailed off as he watched the list--seemingly a single piece of paper at first--unfold into a five-foot length of paper.

“Yep. Paint the pool pink, vacuum the driveway--”

“I’m sorry-- _Vacuum_  the  _DRIVEWAY_?!”

Virgil patted Logan’s shoulder softly and sighed. “Yeah, Lo. Welcome to my world.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Yeah, well, I still have to do the chores. Looks like we’ll have to reschedule.” Virgil pursed his lips. “I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry.” Logan was lost in thought fo a moment, but he quickly snapped out of it. “I have an idea.”

“What do you mean?”

That devilish grin plastered itself onto Logan’s face as he took Virgil’s hand. “You’ll see.”

* * *

It turns out that Logan’s “idea” was that they would dance as they cleaned. For an hour and a half, they traversed the house, dancing and doing chores. It was so much fun. Just pure, calm fun. Virgil hadn’t felt so happy in his own house in  _years_. It was so refreshing to have someone around when he would normally be sulking.

They were taking a break in Virgil’s room, with Virgil hanging his head upside down off the end of his bed and Logan sitting in a chair a few feet away, strumming on Virgil’s guitar.

Logan strummed a sour chord again, and he sighed. “You need a new guitar.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t that be nice,” Virgil scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“I could buy you one. Or just… give you one? I have an extra one or two.”

“God, do  _not_.”

Logan smiled a bit. “Okay, okay.” He started to play a simple melody that Virgil hadn’t heard before.

“New song?”

“Yeah. Do you…” Logan paused, biting his lip for a moment in an odd display of insecurity. “Do you want to help me with the harmony?”

Virgil sat up quickly. “What? No! Logan, we’ve been over this; I don’t sing.”

“C’mon. Just try. One stanza, and you can be done.”

_Damn that stupid pouty face._

“Fine, fine.”

Logan smiled and went to sit next to Virgil. He fished a crumpled piece of loose leaf paper out of his pocket and handed it over. “This is what I’ve got for the lyrics so far. I hope you understand how I wrote out the melody.” He shot Virgil an expectant look. “Ready?” Virgil nodded, and Logan took a breath and sang with Virgil joining in on the second line.

_“It’s become so hard”_

_“For me to be surprised”_

_“But you’re bringing back the real me, and no judgement in your eyes”_

_“It’s the way you make me feel--like I’m finally something real”_

Their eyes met, and they stared at each other for a long moment.

Too long, in Virgil’s opinion, and he broke the eye contact and muttered, “Okay. Well, sing-along time is over. Back to your chair.” He nudged Logan away, who begrudgingly sat back down, and Virgil went back to his prior position of laying down.

They fell silent for a few minutes, just focusing on their breathing, but Logan spoke up. “You know… One of the reasons that I took this break was to remember why I even started dancing in the first place.” Logan bit his lip awkwardly and sighed. “Dancing with you, Virgil… It’s helping me to remember.”

_Okay, Logan, just go for the real sappy shit, why don’t you?_

Virgil gave his boyfriend a Look and tilted his head back up to stare at the ceiling. He was able to ignore the light sounds of Logan moving until two hands settled on either side of his head, and Logan’s face was looming above him. Logan smirked and said, “You’re getting better.”

“And so are you.”

“I meant with dancing, Virge.”

Virgil smiled cockily. “You know, you’re not looking to shabby yourself.”

“How about we meet up again tomorrow? Right here.”

“You mean at my house--” Virgil moved his hands up to grip the sides of Logan’s face, pulling him closer until they were just inches apart-- “or in this position?”

A light pink blush dusted Logan’s cheeks for a second before he stood up and straightened his shirt. “You’re spending too much time with Roman.”

“I’m not allowed to flirt with my boyfriend?”

“No.”

Virgil laughed gently. “Well, shit.”

* * *

Virgil rounded the corner with a huge basket of dirty clothes in his arms. It had been nice while Logan was over—the dancing and cleaning was actually a nice break from the usual suffering—but playtime was over, and Virgil had to get back to his normal chores. The list Dominic had left was absolutely ridiculous, and sure, they may have finished it together, but there was still the usual stuff to do. Thus, Virgil had to sort and clean both the twins’ clothes and the monstrous pile of Dominic’s clothes.

Suddenly, Virgil was sent falling back, and the basket went flying. Clothes exploded in all directions.

“God, Virgil! Watch where you’re going, would you?” Toby chided. Virgil’s head poked out from underneath— _ew_ —a pair of Dominic’s underwear. The twins were standing side by side in their far too expensive clothes. Ember was filing his nails idly and chewing gum, not very perturbed by what just happened, but Toby’s well-manicured fists were clenched at his sides. “Where’s Logan? Did he get sick of his charity case?”

“Sorry, your tackiness. Didn’t mean to ruin your day.” Virgil sneered at the twins.

“Whatev—” The doorbell ringing cut Toby off, and a wicked smile took over the anger. “Virgil, don’t you hear that? It’s the  _door_. Go get it.” Toby elbowed Ember in the side, causing the brother to flinch.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, Virgil. Be useful for once!” With a laugh, the twins gingerly stepped around Virgil’s mound and walked off to who knows where.

Virgil sighed and heaved himself off the ground. He just needed to wait for the call for his university audition, and this would be over. He would be able to leave, and go to Manhattan, and dance without having his “brothers” and “father” constantly breathing down his neck. Until then, however, there was a door that he needed to get.

“Hello?” Virgil said as he swung the door open. God, he didn’t want to deal with people right now. Yeah, Logan being over had been great, but damn it, that was all the social energy he’d had for about a week used up in six hours.

“Hey.” The delivery guy waved his hand awkwardly, gently moving a long, thin box. “I’ve got these flowers for Virgil, ah, Santiago? Is he here?”

Virgil blinked for a second. Flowers? “That’s me. Who are these from?”

“Logan Parker. Dunno how you got someone so famous to send you flowers, but you’re a lucky guy.” The man smiled gently and handed over the box. “Here you go. Have a nice day.”

“Yeah, um, you too, man…” Virgil’s voice trailed off as he turned the box over in his hands.

_What the actual hell?_

Gingerly, he slid the top off of the box. Inside, there were half a dozen red roses and a little card nuzzled between the stems. They were beautiful, obviously in their prime, and the package felt extremely sturdy and thick. It must have cost a ton of money, which made Virgil even more nervous to touch anything. With the slightest of movements, he dislodged the card and held it.

_Virgil,_

_Meet me at my house at midnight. Back porch._

_\- Logan Parker_

Okay. This was fine. It was fine.

It was definitely not fine.

* * *

Virgil freaked out for the entirety of the afternoon until Patton picked him up at 11:15. Sure, it was the middle of the night, but it was also Los Angeles, and traffic was unpredictable. That’s what Virgil’s anxiety told him, at least. For the whole twenty minute ride, the two were absolutely silent, but as soon as Patton’s van pulled up in front of the Parker house, Virgil began to absolutely flip.

“Holy shit, Pat. Why am I doing this? This is ridiculous. It’s the middle of the goddamn night. I should just go back home. If Dominic finds out, he’s going to kill—”

“Virgil, chill. Logan is obviously head over heels for you.”

“Yeah, but…”

And then that went on until 11:57, when Patton shushed Virgil. “Hey, kiddo. It’s going to be alright. Now, you’re gonna go out there, have some fun with your boyfriend, and call me when you need to be picked up.”

“Aw, come on. You know that Dominic went bezerk on me last week and took away my phone.” Virgil smiled a bit, half teasing.

“Right. Uh, do you want me to wait?”

“Nah. It’s okay, Pat. Logan will take me home.”

Patton grinned. “Alright. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, alright?”

“Okay, Patton.” Virgil opened the door and slipped out of the car, gently shutting it so that the rickety car wouldn’t fall apart at his fingertips.

“And I know that you dancers are super flexible, but don’t be going and doing anything too crazy!”

“ _Patton_!”

“I’m kidding! Later, Virgil.” Patton giggled and pulled away from the curb. Virgil refrained from chasing after the van to strangle his best friend, opting instead to make his way behind Logan’s house to hop the fence. He quietly snuck across the backyard and stepped onto the porch. The light was on inside, and—

And...

As Virgil grew nearer to the sliding glass doors, he was able to see Logan… who was furiously making out with Remy. Logan’s hands where on Remy’s shoulders, and Remy had Logan pinned to the wall with a hand up his black t-shirt.

Well… Shit.

Looks like Virgil played the sucker after all.

With a half-choked sob, Virgil turned and ran. There was no use keeping up the midnight meeting anymore. It was time to go home, anyway.

* * *

Virgil slipped into his house at a little past five in the morning. He’d taken his damn time walking back. Not like he had anywhere to be. Dominic wouldn’t even be up yet, anyway, so he had plenty of time to get an hour of sleep before the torture began. God, maybe he should just go take a nap in the fucking pool and let Toby find the body.

“Virgil?” Dominic’s voice rang out from the living room. Virgil almost laughed at how much the world wanted to upset him. “Why are you coming home so late?”

“It’s nothing, Dominic.” Virgil decided that it was no use being quiet anymore, and he chucked his shoes into the hall closet with a thunk.

“Virgil, don’t sass me and then throw things! Come in here right now.”

Virgil’s dark brown eyes rolled harshly. “God, fine.” He trudged into the living room, roughly scrubbing his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie in a sad attempt to make his eye makeup look tastefully smudged instead of tear-streaked.

“You know how much I hate that tone—have you been crying? Your eyes look puffy. Or maybe that’s just how you always look; I don’t really care. What’s wrong?” Dominic sat up on the couch, his disgustingly neon shirt almost giving Virgil a migraine on sight.

“I’m fine.”

“Come on. Talk to me.” Dominic looked almost caring.  _Almost_. “Oh, was it Logan Parker? It was, wasn’t it. I’m so glad that I can be the father you’ll never have. You can stay here and work for me for the rest of your life and forget about that boy!”

“No, I’m…” Virgil wiped a stray tear from his cheek. “I’m going to dance school. I have an audition.”

“Sweetheart, no… I forgot to tell you. The university called and told me that your audition was an accident. They don’t want you.”

“Wh-what? That can’t be true.”

Dominic nodded solemnly. “The rejection letter is in the bowl right there. There’s a lot for you to sort for—oh, and don’t forget to pay the bills…”

Dominic continued rambling as Virgil grabbed the letter from the stack of papers in the center of the coffee table. It read:

_Virgil Santiago,_

_We deeply regret to inform you that you are not accepted to the Manhattan Academy for Arts and Language. We mistakenly sent you an acceptance letter for an audition; however, your application was not satisfactory._

The rest was completely irrelevant. He hadn’t made it. God, he was such an idiot to think that he could actually get away from this life. He wasn’t a dancer. He was a maid. Virgil Santiago was just a simple maid, and he always would be.

* * *

Logan stood quietly next to Roman, who was animatedly telling a story from the tour. He was a bit worried. He’d been trying to get ahold of Virgil and Patton all weekend with no luck. All he had received was radio silence. It was awful.

Roman talked on and on for a few more minutes, and Logan reluctantly interjected a few times just to placate his friend. Virgil and Patton usually arrived at the school twenty minutes early, so where—

There! Virgil was walking towards the front steps, hefting his purple bag onto his shoulder. Patton must have gone straight for the yearbook room.

“Virgil! Hey!” Logan shouted, waving his hands and smiling. Virgil glanced up, grimaced, and immediately turned around, walking in the opposite direction. “Wait, Virgil! Slow down!” Logan easily caught up with him; his long legs were no match for Virgil’s short ones. He pulled his boyfriend into a loose hug. “Hey, what’s up, Stormcloud?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Virgil snapped, tearing himself from Logan’s grip and walking away again.

“Hold up, Virge! Jesus!” Logan stepped around in front of him and held out his hands.

“Did you even fucking love me, or was I just your charity case like everyone else thought?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” His brows furrowed in confusion.

“Did you settle for me because I’d be so caught up with this famous guy dating me that I wouldn’t even care when you dumped me as soon as you found someone better? That’s so fucked up, Logan.” Virgil shook his head and pressed his fingers into his eyes. “Christ, do you know how awful it is to fall for someone you know isn’t good for you? And then—fuck—and then you fall for him anyway because you hope somewhere deep down that he’s not as shitty as you think. You believe that maybe he’s sweet and caring. But he’s not, and you’re fucked.”

Logan tried to get a word in. “Virgil, what—”

“Can’t you just leave me alone?” Virgil’s watery eyes screamed a silent plea. “It’s done. We’re done. I’m not a dancer anymore, either, so just fuck off.” Logan was pushed out of the way by Virgil, who stormed off.

All Logan could do was stare as his boyfriend left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... i'm sorry......?


	8. Rewrite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys. it’s done. it’s finally, really done! this fic has been a huge boost in confidence for me, and i’m really excited to share this final chapter with you! a really special thanks to @wisepuma23 because they were the one who first listened to me ramble about this idea way back in october, and all of my friends who have listened to me complain and groan about it since. this has gotten so much more traction than i ever could have believed, and for my first actually finished long-term fic, I couldn’t be happier. thank you all so much for coming on this journey with me. i couldn’t have done any of this without your love and support.

“He did  _what_?! Do I need to kill him?” Roman paced in front of Logan, who was perched on the hood of his car, hunched in on himself.

“No! I just…” Logan glanced up with sadness in his eyes. “What did I do wrong, Ro?”

“Nothing! Well, actually, I’m not sure, but I know you, and you’re as boring as a stick in a mud puddle. I mean--just, okay. Look…”

Logan slid off the hood of the car; he didn’t need Roman adding to his already shitty mood. “Are you going to help me understand what’s wrong with me, or are you going to continue throwing out these petty insults?”

“It was an accident, okay? Let’s go ask Patton if he knows what’s going on. I’m sure he’s not in the dark.”

* * *

Roman knocked gently on the window of the yearbook room a few minutes later. “Pat! Hey!”

Patton looked up at them, frowned, and pulled the blinds down.

“Woah, Pat, what’s with the blinds?” They went around the corner to the next set of windows. “We need your help.”

Logan interjected, “It’s about Virgil!”

“Sweetheart, please--”

A harsh look from Patton cut Roman off swiftly. “Don’t you ‘sweetheart’ me!” The blinds flew down.

Desperation clawed at Logan’s chest. “Just one minute, Patton. Please.”

Patton yanked open a section of a blinds and glared at them. “Sorry, I don’t take favors from shitty humans.” The blinds shut again.

“Um, back door, Logan! Quick!” The two ran around to the back, skidding through the door just before Patton reached it. “Gotcha.”

Patton looked surprisingly menacing for being dressed in a pastel blue flower crown, light pink sweater and tights, a pair of Winnie the Pooh overall shorts, frilly white socks, and matching blue heeled-boots. “Looking to marr that pretty little face of yours, superstar?” He flashed his claw-like nails at the boys and stalked a few feet back to sit on a counter.

“Hey, don’t go hurting the money maker!” Roman cried out.

“You,” Patton pointed at Logan, “broke my best friend’s heart. Get the fuck out of our lives.”

Logan felt like he was going to cry from all of the emotions he was feeling. “I don’t even know what I did wrong!”

“Don’t even play that shit with me, Logan. He knows you cheated. Get lost.”

“That’s not true!”

“Really? That’s funny ‘cause Virgil saw you with Remy.”

Logan’s eyes widened. “Oh my god, no! No, Patton, I swear that it isn’t like that. Remy broke into my house and tried to convince me to--” His voice broke off as he remembered the harsh tugs and sharp teeth. “He--I told him no and forced him to leave. Remy set me up. I would  _never_  do something like that to Virgil. You’ve got to believe me.”

Patton stared at them for a long time before he sighed. “Look, I really do want to believe you, and I want Virgil to be happy.” He paused. “Especially now that he’s stuck with that stupid prick for another year…”

“He didn’t get into Manhattan?”

“They didn’t even give him the audition.”

“Why would they reject him? He’s the best dancer that I’ve ever seen…” Logan pinched the bridge of his nose in a futile attempt to calm himself down.

Patton shrugged. “Maybe they changed their minds.”

There were a few seconds of silence before Roman whispered, “But we could change them back…”

“We can?”

“Holy shit,” Logan muttered. “We can!”

Patton narrowed his eyes. “What are you two talking about?”

“Just get Virgil to come to that dance competition, and we’ll do everything from there,” Logan called as he dragged Roman out the door. “Thank you!”

* * *

Virgil was taking out the trash when he heard the familiar sound of Patton’s van approaching. He turned around and watched as it pulled up to the curb next to him with Patton and Roman inside. He barely cared that he was in his pajamas and not wearing a binder; there was barely any feeling left inside of him at all. He threw a blank look at Patton.

“Hey, Virge… We need to show you something.”

He blinked and turned to Roman. “Why are you here?”

“Well,” Roman said, already beginning his theatrics. “Sometimes relationships have misunderstandings. Even the greatest and most fantastic ones do, okay? But you and Logan are so wonderful together, and I hate to see your relationship go to waste like this. It’s like Shakespeare once said--”

Patton held out a garment bag. “Please go get dressed. It’ll be worth it.” He smiled. “I promise.”

* * *

Ten minutes later, Virgil was dressed in a purple and black tank top, ripped black jeans, and a leather jacket with plaid patches and sitting in the parking lot of--wait for it--Logan Parker’s dance competition.

“What are you guys trying to pull?”

Roman flinched back at the harshness in his voice, but recovered quickly. “We felt bad that you didn’t get your audition, so we hooked you up--”

“By bringing me to  _Logan’s_  competition?”

“...Yeah.”

Virgil glared at the others. “I told you that I’m done dancing.”

“Virge,” Patton murmured. “This isn’t about the competition, okay? Trust me.”

Another snarky comment was about to come out of Virgil’s mouth when a different voice called out, “Roman, you’re on in five!”

“Shit. Alright, while you contemplate the most important moment of your entire life, I’ve got to go host this competition.” He leaned through the driver’s side window and kissed Patton’s cheek. “I’ll see you inside, babe.”

“Bye…” Patton watched Roman leave for a few seconds before turning back to Virgil. “This is going to be worth it.”

“Whatever. Let’s just go inside.”

“Yay!”

* * *

“Welcome, everybody, to Logan Parker’s dance competition!” Roman greeted just as Virgil and Patton entered the venue. “I’m your host, The Prince! While I’m sure you all would like to continue to be entertained by yours truly, I’d like to introduce the man who made all of this possible: Logan Parker!”

The crowd erupted, and Logan bounded onstage with a huge grin. “Hello, Los Angeles!” The screaming grew louder. “I was just backstage, and you wouldn’t believe the amazing dancers that we’ve gathered here today! The judges are going to have a really tough time choosing our winner, but I’m sure they’ll be able to do it. The dancers are going to be judged on three categories: style, individuality, and skill. Don’t forget to cheer on your favorite dancers; your enthusiasm will help the judges out a little with their decisions. The winner will be dancing with me in my next music video, so make this count!”

“Thanks, Lo! While you head on back to your seat, let’s call out our first dancers: Kai and Lauren!”

Virgil watched the first three acts with Patton, making comments about how amazing the dancers were, when Roman stepped on stage with a bored expression. “The next act goes by the name of Ember Blatt. He’s doing…  _something_.”

Ember started “dancing” to a really bad remix of an old song, and Virgil put his head in hands. Dominic’s ridiculous commentary from the audience pierced Virgil’s thoughts, and as soon as his attention was back on the stage, Toby ran on and pushed Ember away to start his own routine. It was almost sad how awful they were doing.

Roman quickly intervened and shooed them offstage. “Wow… That was just  _awful_ , huh?” The crowd laughed, and Roman smiled. “Well, let’s keep this show going! Put your hands together for Remy Sinclair, who will be our last act of the night!” Virgil pursed his lips and looked away before Remy could walk into his line of sight.

“Hey,” Patton whispered. “You’re so much better than Remy.”

Virgil just nodded and turned his gaze towards the side bleachers. The judges were sitting there, jotting down notes on their little legal pads next to Logan. Just as he was about to look away, Logan looked over and locked eyes with Virgil.

“That was Remy Sinclair, everyone!” Roman’s voice captured everyone’s attention once more. “It’s finally time for the judges to deliberate on who will be the winner of this competition, since that was our last dancer tonight!” The audience exploded into boos, and Roman’s dramatic nature came out full force. “Are you telling me that you haven’t seen enough dancers tonight? Certainly that can’t be true!” The crowd whooped. “Well, a prince should never leave his subjects displeased! DJ, can I please have some music?”

An energetic beat pumped through the speakers, and Roman started to dance along. Patton squealed and rushed up to the front of the crowd to watch his boyfriend’s performance.

Virgil was just happy that Patton had found someone he was content with.

* * *

As soon as Roman finished his routine, Logan picked up a mic and joined his best friend on the stage. “While that  _was_  a fantastic little surprise for you all, I think the one we have next will be even better. Are you ready?” The crowd cheered. “Hit it!”

The lights cut out in the whole auditorium, leaving everyone in complete darkness for a few moments. Suddenly, a spotlight flickered to light on Logan center stage, and the exhilaration of a performance rushed through his veins as the music picked up. He moved in time with every beat until his cue to start singing.

_It’s become so hard for me to be surprised, but you’re bringing back the real me, and no judgement in your eyes._

Logan caught Virgil’s gaze in the crowd, and he couldn’t help but smile. He sang a few more lines before cutting his band off and addressing the crowd. “Hold on! Wait, everyone, I’m sorry. I want this to be perfect, and I know that it won’t be until I have someone very special onstage with me.” He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. “Virgil? Are you out there?” His eyes scanned the crowd, but he didn’t catch any sight of Virgil. “Virge? I know you’re here…”

Nothing. He looked at Roman and Patton, who had met up in the crowd, and they both had the same worried expression that he did.

“Come on, Virgil… Please…”

Roman, ever the drama queen, hefted himself up onto an empty chair and started chanting “Virgil” right in the center of the crowd. Within a few repetitions, the entire auditorium was chanting, making it easier to spot those who weren’t going along with the chant. Out of the corner of his eye, Logan caught sight of someone moving towards the edge of the crowd.

“Virgil!”

* * *

Virgil froze.

_Damn it._

He glared at Logan, who didn’t seem affected by the expression at all. “Virgil, will you dance with me?”

“Oh,” Virgil scoffed. “Dance with you? No thanks.”

“I may be wrong, but you’re the most incredible dance partner that I’ve ever had.” Logan’s smile shifted from sweet to sassy, and he looked out to the audience. “Even though I taught him everything he knows…”

“That’s odd… I remember you saying that you forgot why you even started dancing until you met  _me_.” Scandalized oohs scattered around the auditorium, and Logan honestly looked a bit surprised at the venomous burn he’d just received.

“That’s fair. I did say that, so… how about you come on up here and show me why I remembered in the first place.”

_Damn my competitiveness._

Virgil ran up the steps to the stage, shrugging his jacket off as he went. His expression stayed sharp even as Logan’s pretty brown eyes gazed down at him. “Guys, gals, and nonbinary pals, please give a warm welcome to Virgil Santiago!”

As soon as the cheers died down, Virgil smirked at Logan. “Let’s see… How about we start off with one of your little boy band moves?” The music played for a phrase, and he easily mimicked one of Logan’s moves, eliciting some praise from the crowd.

“Cute.” Logan said with a raised eyebrow. “And that was…?”

“Right, sorry.” Virgil gently placed his hands on Logan’s chest and looked up with a sickeningly sweet smile. “That was  _you_.” He pushed away, causing Logan to stumble a few steps as he processed what just happened.

“That’s not really how it goes. You need a bit of help?” Logan snarked as soon as he’d recovered.

“As if you could have done it any better.”

Logan scoffed. “Virge, I  _invented_  that move. Watch this.” Virgil stepped out of the way and watched an albeit impressive expansion of the move. “Top that.”

“Top that,” Virgil parroted mockingly, flicking his hair out of his eyes. “Shut up.” Another phrase of music played, and Virgil let some of his ballet training out with some spins and leaps. The crowd applauded with more enthusiasm than ever.

“Remember this?” Logan looked Virgil right in the eyes as he performed one of the moves they had made up while they were cleaning, and Virgil added on, ending with a hip check that made Logan stumble. “Oh, it’s on, Santiago!”

The music picked up, and they entered an intricate duet. They spun and jumped and danced across the stage, shutting out the world and allowing the music to guide them. Logan grabbed Virgil’s hand and handed him a mic.

“Sing with me?”

For a few minutes, Virgil forgot about Logan cheating and Manhattan and all the other shitty things that were wrong in his life and he just let go. He got caught up in the lyrics and choreography, allowing himself to be spun.

The song ended, and Virgil found himself pressed up to Logan; both of them were breathing heavily from the performance. Virgil heard the crowd cheer, and he looked out at the people gathered in the seats and caught sight of Remy glaring at him. Panic bubbled up in his chest, and without a second thought, he rushed off stage into the arms of Patton and Roman. Subconsciously, he heard Logan thanking the audience, but it wasn’t until Logan had placed a hand on his shoulder that he registered there was a break in activity.

“Virgil, you were…  _incredible_ ,” Logan huffed, smiling gently.

“You were too.” Virgil fidgeted with his hands, and he suddenly wished that he had his hoodie to hide in.

“If you’re all upset because of Remy and me, I can promise you that there is  _nothing_  going on between me and him.” Virgil made an unconvinced face. “Virge, I would never do anything like that to you. Not to mention that the only reason I dated Remy in the first place was… I thought he could fix me. Obviously, there was nothing to fix, but I was desperate, and Remy was so focused on my looks and fame that he became obsessed. He set me up that night.” Logan paused. “Virgil, I love you  _so_  much, and I’m sorry that I hurt you.”

“Okay,” Virgil whispered. “Okay, I believe you.”

“Good; I’m totally kissable.”

“Oh my god, will you let that go?”

Logan smirked and reached up to grab the winner envelope from the bleachers behind Virgil. “Never.” Virgil rolled his eyes and pushed Logan onstage, where he immediately regained his energetic performing personality. “Thank you so much to all of the dancers and audience members who came out tonight! You all are amazing, and I love you guys, but there can only be one winner of this competition. That person is… Virgil Santiago!”

Virgil bounded up the steps and threw himself into a hug with Logan.

“Hey!” Remy interrupted. “This isn’t fair! I should have won!” In a wild turn of events, tears welled up in his eyes as he turned to Virgil. “But you were really amazing out there.” The couple watched in awe for a few seconds as Remy rushed away.

Soon enough, they were ambushed by Roman and Patton, who screamed congratulations and praise. They chatted a bit before Patton was shoved out of the way by Dominic and the twins.

“How  _dare_  you, Virgil! How dare you embarrass me and your brothers like that?!” Dominic snarled. “How do you think that it makes us look that you, our  _maid_ , wins the Logan Parker competition? You have humiliated us in front of the entirety of Los Angel--”

“Excuse me! Sorry,” a short man in a brown suit and a pink, blue, and white striped tie said as he pushed his way through the crowd, stopping in front of Virgil with a sweet grin. “Hello! My name is Dr. Emile Picani from the Manhattan Academy for Arts and Language. Mr. Santiago, I must say that you dance spectacularly for someone with two broken legs.” His happy personality immediately turned venomous as he glanced at Dominic.

“Two broken--What do you mean two broken legs?” Virgil glared at Dominic, who just made a face.

“Don’t look at me like that. We’ll talk about this when we get home. Twins!” He turned and began to walk downstage. “Let’s go!” A horrifying screech rang through the auditorium as Dominic, ever the idiot, fell off the front of the stage in a twisted heap. Everyone stared for a moment as Dominic groaned, but Dr. Picani interjected.

“Anyway, we would be absolutely honored if you would come study with us in Manhattan on a full scholarship. Just call me on Monday so we can get everything squared away!” He pressed a business card into Virgil’s hand. “Congratulations, Mr. Santiago.”

Virgil only waited until Dr. Picani had left to scream and pull Logan into a kiss.

* * *

**_Epilogue_ **

“And call me every day, Virgil! I’ll never be able to survive the rest of senior year without you,” Patton whined as he hugged Virgil again.

“I think Roman will keep you company just fine until you’re picking me up in your private jet so we can go shopping in Paris.”

Patton laughed and ruffled Virgil’s hair, but their farewells were cut off by Dominic’s squeaky wheelchair rolling towards the door. “Hey! I need my meds  _pronto_! Did you hear me, Virgil?”

Virgil saw Logan roll his eyes as he packed away the last suitcase into the van and giggled.

“A little help would be nice, Virgil!”

“Sorry, Dominic,” Logan said, wrapping his arm around his boyfriend’s waist. “He doesn’t work for you anymore.”

“Come on! Virgil, don’t just leave me!”

Tuning out Dominic’s incessant rambling, Virgil pulled Logan closer. “I can’t believe all of my dreams are coming true.”

“You deserve it.”

“Yeah.” Virgil grinned. “Yeah, I really do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS- I am totally down to continue writing this univers OR drawing the outfits I talked about in the story, all you need to do is ask! :)
> 
> ***now with an ask blog!!! @ask-dance-dance-au


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